Court blanks racing pool

The galloping battle between Govia and St John’s (London) Baptist Church came to an abrupt halt yesterday with the Appeal Court’s decision.

A shocked Govia said he could not believe what had just happened, noting that he had already spent more than a million dollars to convert the building into a gambling house which was to be called "At the Post."

The GBA had initially refused to grant Govia a licence to operate the proposed business adjacent to the church on the corner of Pembroke and Duke Streets in Port-of-Spain. He appealed that decision and his appeal was heard before Chief Justice Sat Sharma and Justice Roger Hamel-Smith.

Representing the church were attorneys Seenath Jairam SC, Rishi Dass, Shiv Anand Sharma and Andre Le Blanc, while Govia’s attorneys were Russell Martineau SC and Deborah Peake. In a written judgment delivered by the CJ yesterday, he noted that "the serious objections, which seemed to influence the authority’s decision-making, are in our view quite reasonable." He added, "In our society, the church, as an institution, still holds a place of reverence and respect. It is one of the pillars of our society. The view of the objectors, that gambling is contrary to their church’s doctrine, and thus a sin, is not dissimilar from the views of many other denominational churches and indeed other faiths that comprise our cosmopolitan society."

The appellate court, taking into consideration the possible traffic congestion that could be caused with the church and betting office side by side, said, "The habit of punters to park indiscriminately is a material factor which the authority would have certainly bore in mind. We do not therefore feel able to conclude that the authority acted unreasonable in finding there could be traffic congestion."

The church’s pastor, Anslem Warrick, said that at the very inception of the matter, he knew that God was with them and the justices of appeal gave a righteous decision. He said he will support any other church taking such a stance.